Two-Stroke motorcycles... Is there anything better on two wheels? The smoke, the smell, the powerband and the thrill. Road or dirt, the two-stroke was King... Here is Gallery 3...
We love two-strokes at Bike Review. We’ve been publishing 2T articles for a decade, so thought we’d put a gallery series together of our fave 2T’s over the years. Here is Gallery Three, the stunning 1985 Yamaha RZV500 V4 two-stroke… Pics: HMC.
Whether it’s a racer or a road bike, nakedbike or off-road bike, if it is a two-stroke it’s awesome. Favourites are the old Yamaha YZ, Suzuki RM, Kawasaki KX and Honda CR range of the 1980s and 1990s… We also love the Suzuki RG and RGV, Kawasaki KR and KR-1S, Yamaha RD, RZ and TZR, Honda NSR and even the old MVX (yes, we are sick)…
The first month we featured the Bimota V-Due, Ronax 500, YZR500, RGV250, RG500, RZV500. RZ500. RSW250, RS250 and a few more. Month two was the Cagiva 500cc GP bike… Two-Stroke motorcycles… Is there anything better on two wheels? The smoke, the smell, the powerband and the thrill. Road or dirt, the two-stroke was King… Here is Gallery 3, The mighty RZV500, one that Jeff and Tim restored. Over the next few months we will feature more 500cc GP bike and road bike two-stroke galleries, from the YZR500 to the RGV500, NSR500, and even the KR500 of the early 1980s era.
With RZ500s becoming somewhat of a rarity, the Japanese import RZV500R makes an ideal alternative boasting a number of upgrades and easily fixable restricted power… I have to admit that I am a certified RZ nutter. My first road bike was an RZ250FN and I’ve had a few RZs over the years as well as RDs. I’ve had an RG500 but one bike I’ve never owned that I have lusted after since I was 16-years-old is the mighty RZV500R. In 2020 I restored this one – Ed.
Read our full feature and test on this Yamaha RZV500 here…
